1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to planters and more particularly pertains to a planter having a label which may be utilized for identifying the plant or seedling present within the soil of the planter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of planters is known in the prior art. More specifically, planters heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of containing soil and seedlings or plants are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
More specifically, most plants or seedlings are identified by labels or tags which attach either directly to the plant itself, or are inserted into the soil adjacent to the identified plant or seedling. It is common for such labels or tags to be unintentionally or accidentally removed or rearranged, thereby rendering the associated plant or seedling unidentifiable until sometime after the purchase thereof by a consumer and/or the planting thereof in the ground. Such tags and labels are known in the prior art and several patents have issued therefor.
For example, a plant tag is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,372 which utilizes a resilient tag portion having first and second holes formed therethrough. Guide notches are provided at exposed edges of the tag portion on either side of a scored line and cuts extend from each of the first and second holes to a guide surface on the same side of the scored line. The tag is foldable about the scored line to align the first and second holes such that the guide surfaces may guide the tag onto the plant. The resilient tag may then be unfolded to lock the tag onto the plant.
A plant coding system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,616 which includes a plant wall chart color coded according to groups of plants requiring certain amount of sun light, cards similarly color coded and located at the display area for plants of a similar variety, and plant tags associated with each tag and color coded to correspond to the light required and shown also on the card. The plant tags include a rectangularly shaped area for displaying the information required which tapers into a spike that may be inserted into the soil adjacent the associated plant.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,533 which discloses a plant marker including a plastic stake element having a sharpened point at one end thereof and an enlarged planar mounting surface at the opposite end thereof. An identification number such as a decal is removably applied to the mounting surface and serves to identify plants by means of graphic information or indicia or both. Various identification numbers can be purchased separately according to different variety of plants which the user intends to grow, and a selected member is affixed to a stake element which is then driven by hand into the ground adjacent to the plant or seedling to be identified.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a planter having a label that may be utilized for identifying the plant or seedling present within the soil of the planter which includes a container having a flange extending around the top end thereof on which the label is positioned. Furthermore, none of the known prior art planters teach or suggest a planter having an integrally molded writable surface thereon and a moisture indicator for identifying a presence of liquid within the soil of the planter.
In these respects, the label identified planter according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of containing a plant or seedling and identifying the plant or seedling present within the soil of the planter.